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A group of lawyers,
known as Lawyers of Conscience, have accused President Goodluck
Jonathan of allowing corrupt Nigerians to become the major operators in
his government.

In a statement
signed by its national coordinator, Benedict Ezeogwu, and public
relations officer, Sadiq Mohammed, the group alleged that many of those
indicted in corruption and fraud scandals in the country are still
free, with no serious effort to bring them to justice.

“Several cases of
graft and abuse of offices, particularly in the areas of budgetary
irregularities, inflation of cost in contract awards, unauthorized
expenditures, award of contracts, allocation of oil blocks to
questionable companies of cronies, have continued unchecked,” read the
statement.

The group accused
the government of shielding those involved in high-level corruption
such as legislators and those in the Haliburton, Siemens, and Chevron
cases. It said the government had gutted anti-corruption agencies such
as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) by ignoring its
demands and denying its staff protection.

“Individuals and
companies implicated/involved in corrupt practices and fraudulent
activities are now given recognitions and honours by the present
government.

“Over N500 billion
is alleged to have been stolen by the current legislators in the
country, and [the EFCC’s] demands that those involved should be brought
to book have been rebuffed by the Jonathan-led government,” the
statement read.

Major examples

The group singled
out the Halliburton corruption case and the case of Julius Berger as
particularly egregious examples. It accused Mr. Jonathan of working to
cover up and protect major culprits in the scandals because they are
godfathers of his government.

“The clear
unconstitutional and suspicious efforts of the Attorney General of the
Federation to shield Julius Berger from criminal prosecution, even when
the company accepted guilt, is a typical example of what we are
saying,” it said.

It pointed to
several reports that the presidency had amassed over N20 billion for
the funding of Mr. Jonathan’s 2011 presidential campaign through the
misuse of money from the Ministry of Environment’s Ecological Fund, the
Ministry of Works; and the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation
(NNPC).

It noted that
governors who have been implicated in the looting of their states’
treasuries have become major campaigners for the president, in exchange
for a second term ticket or protection from anti-graft agencies.

“No government in
the country has condoned corruption or destroyed the anti-corruption
war like the Goodluck Jonathan-led government,” said the statement.